I’m currently inscribing a Bible for my granddaughter, Rylie. I spend a few hours every morning on this project while thinking of her and asking God to bless her throughout the years of her life.
This morning’s reading included John 13 [I jumped from II Samuel to John to allow me to focus on the Lenten Season.] Occasionally, I run into passages that make me wish I had more margin-space to write in. 🙂 This is one of those chapters!
It opens with Jesus observing the Passover Feast with His apostles. Remarkably, John does not choose to tell us about the point in this meal when Jesus passes the cup and the bread around the table for each to partake. It seems odd to me that he makes no mention of this; but fortunately the other gospel-writers give us plenty of details.
There is a point to observe, however, that I find quite remarkable. It’s a simple observation: Jesus served the bread and wine at a time that included Judas! I find that to be fascinating! However, the passage is clear to inform us that The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal [v.2]. [All quotes from The Message Bible unless otherwise noted].
We can’t specifically determine the order of the evening, but apparently in the midst of this meal [whether it was before or after the bread and wine we’re not certain],
Jesus got
up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he
poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying
them with his apron [vs.4-5].
It is clear that Jesus chose to wash the feet of Judas as well!
With the meal largely behind them, Jesus addresses the fact that one of those at the table with Him will betray Him.
We need to refer to other Gospel
accounts for a few details to give us the full picture of this very special
evening when Jesus was feeling the full weight of what was about to happen!
Matthew 26:23 implies that Judas was seated next to Jesus [along with John on the other side] at this table! After Jesus’ report of betrayal,
…they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’ And He answered and said, ‘He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.’…Then Judas who was betraying Him, answered and said, ‘Rabbi, is it I?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it’ [vs. 22,23,25 NKJV].
It is clear that Judas had a seat of honor at the table being close to Jesus! His response to Jesus also makes it clear that Judas viewed Jesus as a rabbi, but not as his Lord – distinguishing himself from every other person at the table!
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I’m well aware that Judas is described as the ‘son of perdition’ – which is a term that typically needs to be defined. In the original Greek, the term meant ‘son of destruction’ or ‘son of ruin’. Jesus Himself uses this term referring to Judas as He prays in John 17:12,
“While I
was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I
have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the
Scripture might be fulfilled.”
NOTE: Jesus prayed this prayer MUCH LATER in the night after they left the upper room and went to the garden to pray!
We are given the impression in John 13, that Jesus is intentionally reaching out to Judas and trying to “keep” him in the fold!
ü Judas is given a seat
in close proximity to Jesus at the Passover Feast.
ü Judas is included when
Jesus passes the bread and wine around the table!
ü Jesus washed Judas’
feet along with the other eleven!
[My vivid imagination wonders about the
dynamics of these moments. Was Jesus weeping as He washed Judas’ feet? How was
Judas handling these few moments as he knew he was about to betray Jesus?]
ü What was going on when
he felt the pressure to join the others in asking if he was the betrayer?
Surely, Judas had experienced the love of Jesus! He had heard the messages and seen the miracles! He had travelled with Jesus much of the last two years! He had become friends with the other eleven! Was he torn?
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I’m well aware that I’m skirting a huge discussion between two theological perspectives: Calvinism and Wesleyan Arminianism
Calvinism
is a
branch of Protestant theology developed by John Calvin in the 16th
century. It emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture and
the necessity of grace through faith. Calvinism is characterized by its
doctrines of predestination and the belief that Christ’s atonement is
specifically intended for the elect.
Wesleyan Arminianism is a theological tradition emphasizing God’s universal grace, human free will and the pursuit of holiness rooted in the teachings of John Wesley and Jacobus Arminius.
Essentially, Calvinist bodies believe that Judas was predestined to be the “son of perdition” or betrayer.
Wesleyan Arminian bodies believe that Judas had a choice and used his free will to betray Jesus – but that he could have chosen to honor and serve Christ.
I attended two seminaries that represented each of these perspectives. I have good friends from both camps. I worship regularly with people who wholeheartedly embrace Calvinist theology! I love them and am very comfortable in their presence – even though I hold to a significantly different opinion theologically. It rarely becomes an uncomfortable place for me to be!
I’d like to share a story from very early in my ministry to close this article.
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I served as pastor of the Oakland Free Methodist Church in East Liverpool, Ohio for thirteen years. I became deeply invested in the local ministerial group and in the community! I regularly participated in providing radio devotionals that were heard on the local radio station.
One year – as we debated how to lead our community through the Lenten season – someone suggested that we have a radio debate about Judas’ role in Jesus’ betrayal with a representative from each of the above mentioned theological perspectives.
I was asked to present the Wesleyan Arminian view. A good friend - pastor of one of the local Presbyterian churches – was drafted to represent the Calvinist perspective.
A few days before the debate, my friend called and asked essentially what I was going to say. I told him that I would teach what I have always believed:
Judas was called by Jesus to be one of His apostles. He responded by following Jesus for at least two years. But Judas had a dark side and likely had an expectation that Jesus would eventually lead a revolt against the Roman Empire. He was likely disappointed when this didn’t develop. However, Jesus persistently reached out to Judas throughout their time together – hoping to see him change his heart. But, Judas had free will! He eventually rejected Jesus’ attempts to call him to faith and ended up choosing to betray Jesus! I do NOT believe that he was predestined to betray Jesus because the Word of God says that,
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance [II Peter
3:9 NKJV].
This is also clearly implied in the well-known and much-loved John 3:16,
For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
When I got this far, my friend said, “Hal, that’s exactly what I believe! But I know that I’m expected to present the Calvinist perspective. I’m going to have to do some homework and be prepared to present the predestination perspective.
[The day of the debate, he was a nervous wreck, but dutifully represented his perspective.]
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A quick word of reconciliation:
We are free to hold various opinions on many things taught in the Bible! Why else would we have so much diversity in our land? Generally speaking, there are three major categories of Christianity in America:
·
Mainline
Protestantism
·
Evangelical
Protestantism
·
Roman
Catholicism
These three groups all subscribe to the tenants of the Apostle’s Creed which comes to us as a historical treatise from the fourth century!
We have managed to fracture our Christian witness into over 2,000 denominations – which many consider a travesty since the Bible refers to us as “the body of Christ’ [I Corinthians 12:27 NKJV] who embrace “One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” [Ephesians 4:5-6 NKJV].
We need to learn to look for the things that we can agree on and let love, grace and kindness govern the areas where we may have differing views!
